Son of Semele Ensemble's First Annual Solo Creation Festival to Open Today

Award-winning theatre company Son of Semele Ensemble (SoSE) will present the 1st annual Solo Creation Festival at the Son of Semele Theater from July 2-20, 2014, with bonus performances of #aspellforfainting, a solo piece by internationally acclaimed theater innovators WaxFactory.

Solo Creation Festival is a curated festival of solo works in many stages of development and in a wide range of genres/forms. SoSE will sponsor the festival each year in July to provide an opportunity for bold solo artists to present works of all kinds, be it monologue, movement or design-focused work. Participating artists will be divided into three programs, with each program performing over a single week.

$17 ($2 discount for online purchase)
$30 Festival Pass (one performance each from Programs 1, 2 & 3)
#aspellforfainting is not included in the Festival Pass
online sales at sonofsemele.org

"In the past few years, I have seen a number of wonderful solo pieces and have come to really appreciate the variety of styles and aesthetics popping up within the field," says Son of Semele Ensemble Artistic Director Matthew McCray. "Almost all of the solo artists in the festival are new to Son of Semele Theater, and it is a pleasure to support them. We are seeking solo work that is pushing the boundaries and definitions of the genre and my hope is that we are providing opportunities to progressive solo artists that might otherwise be overlooked or ineligible from more traditional solo festivals."

The 2014 Solo Creation Festival will include the following productions:

PROGRAM 1

Within/Without by Heather Hewko - Memories real and surreal are expressed through movement after a controversial medical procedure costs a patient the power of speech.
And Then My Cat Died by Tiara Jackson - A lighthearted wink at audience behavior in which the artist engages in a silent, slow-motion standing ovation.
ROY G BIV a Story through the Eyes of A Rock Icon by R. Ernie Silva & Anthony Pearce - A walk through the mind of the Western world's purest rock genius whose special relationship with colors ultimately tests not just his understanding of his world but our perception of our own.

PROGRAM 2

Notes from the Underground by Kendra Ware - A performance memoir, culling from Assata Shakur's classic autobiography, detailing how one tragic car accident revealed the troubling issues of inequality within the US judicial system.
Patriot Act by Mike Schlitt - This fast, furious and very funny monologue tells you everything you'll ever need to know about the United States... in just 20 minutes.
One Man Dystopia by Joe von Appen - An apocalypse-minded misfit's journey through a future he never thought he'd live to see.

PROGRAM 3

The Women of "The Hat" by Melissa R. Randel - Text, choreography, jazz and silence weave together to tell a story of love, sacrifice, and the mutable nature of truth.
You're Not Nothing by Abby Schachner - Songs and stories for your inner child as told by a homicidal children's television host on the brink of suicide.
Susan Tierney by Susan Tierney - Tales from the jagged past of an extraordinary life, told in a hilarious, no-holds-barred, possibly far-too-honest style.

BONUS EVENT: #aspellforfainting by WaxFactory

Using Charcot's Tuesday night lectures at the Salpêtrière and his instigation of hysterical performance as a leaping-off point, WaxFactory's improvised performance traces the lines of fainting, hallucination, delusion, and love letters that run through disparate textual sources: The Seagull, Macbeth, Hamlet, Streetcar Named Desire, "American Idol," "Dancing with the Stars," YouTube instructional videos, etc. In this investigation into the chaos of creation, solo performer Gillian Chadsey's work both shapes and is shaped by the spontaneous choices of sound artist Ivan Talijancic and visual artist Shige Moriya.